In July 2011, Apple released the 3nd generation MacBook Air. As with the 2nd generation Airs, the 2011 notebooks are available in 11-inch (A1370) and 13-inch (A1369) models. The 2011 MacBook Air is available in four basic configurations-11-inch with 64GB of storage, 11-inch with 128GB of storage, 13-inch with 128GB of storage, and 13-inch with 256GB of storage. Within each of these divisions, you can further customize the processor and RAM.

Nearly identical internal design as the 2010 Air: The 2011 MacBook Air's hardware layout is nearly identical to that of the 2010 model. The motherboard has a slightly different chip configuration, but is the same general shape and size.

Integrated graphics processor: Our 11-inch 2010 Air had an NVIDIA GeForce 320M GPU. Apple switched to Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000 processor for the 2011 models. This change gave Apple room on the motherboard to include the Intel E78296 Platform Controller Hub, which likely contains the Thunderbolt controller. It also meant Apple could shrink the internal cooling assembly.

Many components are identical to the 2010 Air: The 2011 MacBook Air uses many of the same chips as the previous model, such as the Broadcom BCM5976A0K, Cypress CY8C24x94-24L PSoC, and Cirrus 4206BCNZ audio controller.

Ultra-efficient internal design: In most respects, the 11-inch Air is just a smaller version of the 13-inch model. The internal hardware layout is nearly identical. The motherboard and left-side PCB are the same general shape. And, both have many of the same components. Packing all this hardware into a case that's smaller by one inch from side to side and almost one and a half inches front to back, requires an ultra-efficient internal hardware layout.

About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...

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Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop support specialist in the social research and energy industries. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Louisville, where he has also lectured on computer crime and crime prevention.